I'm a former 3M Scotchprint owner, and a big fan of the companies media, but the MCS warranty deserves a closer look. 3M has such high standards in their production lines that very few if any media defects get to the end use. Look at what you are getting and why, and whether its that important to your client or your market penetration. When I started with wraps no one thought they could last outdoors for years, so a warranty was needed to convince the customer to invest thousands in a wrap. Now people expect the wrap to last at least 5 years.
The greatest preponderance of warranty claims for graphics failures I've seen over the years were not media related. Usually the claims are denied for fabrication or installer mistakes, bad prep, bad surface, improper media matrix, or just incomplete record keeping - in other words - human error. MCS doesnt cover that. MCS doesn't cover removal and replacement labor, just media. And MCS also is a prorated warranty period.
Because 3M's production science is so good on its premium films, chances are great that if you have a failure, it will not be media related, and as such it will be on you to honor, not the vinyl manufacturer. That's not to say you shouldnt do a deal. But you'll need to follow the 3M technical bulletins to the letter, file the paperwork and keep records of compliance (ink lots, vinyl lots, suppliers, invoices, install forms with weather and surface conditions, etc.) for each job, and keep all that for years. As well as sharing your client base with 3M when they register the warranty. yikes! I needed a staffer who did just that one job for a shop of 8 people. And that costs more than the printer.
Which brings me to the market value - when your competitors don't offer 3M MCS you become the premium shop, and its worth it for a bit. But you are not going to be price competitive to the cheapo wrap guy down the street, so your cost for non MCS products (banners, tradeshows etc.) will go up - in some cases 3x.
When the competition sees you marketing that 3M affiliation heavily (to truly benefit from it), they may become 3M MCS as well, and a price war can ensue. While I cant speak for recently, in the old days 3M reps were known to SHARE that customer info between shops. Those MCS warranted customers were treated as 3M property, not yours.
I like 3M, and the labor savings and primo quality films are by far the best IMHO, but I cover my warranty internally. I follow the tech bulletins, meet output standards that are at the top of the trade, but I don't share my client info with any suppliers.
Buy the printer that makes FINANCIAL sense to you, but dont let fear of failures from a mature and proven product line weigh heavy - you're better off spending that extra overhead on training staff to be the best than on keeping copious records to support a warranty claim that will likely never come..
